Մաշտոցյան Մատենադարան: Древнейшие рукописи Армении

The Matenadaran , officially the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts, is a museum, repository of manuscripts, and a research institute in Yerevan, Armenia. It is the world's largest repository of Armenian manuscripts. It was established in 1959 on the basis of the nationalized collection of the Armenian Church, formerly held at Etchmiadzin. Its collection has gradually expanded since its establishment, mostly from individual donations. One of the most prominent landmarks of Yerevan, it is named after Mesrop Mashtots, the inventor of the Armenian alphabet, whose statue stands in front of the building. Its collection is included in the register of the UNESCO Memory of the World program.

The word matenadaran is a compound composed of matean, ("book" or "parchment") and daran ("repository"). Both words are of Middle Persian origin. Though it is sometimes translated as "scriptorium" in English, a more accurate translation is "repository or library of manuscripts." In medieval Armenia, the term matenadaran was used in the sense of a library as all books were manuscripts. efn|In modern Eastern Armenian, the term gradaran has replaced it for "library", while in Western Armenian the word matenadaran continues to be used for "library". and the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, and the Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Manuscript Depository at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. To distinguish it from others, it is often referred to as the Matenadaran of Yerevan, the Yerevan Matenadaran, (Մաշտոցյան Մատենադարան).

The earliest mention of a manuscript repository in Armenia was recorded in the writings of the fifth century historian Ghazar Parpetsi, who noted the existence of such a repository at the Etchmiadzin catholicosate in Vagharshapat, where Greek and Armenian language texts were kept. Sources remain silent on the fate of the Etchmiadzin matenadaran until the 15th century, when the catholicosate returned from Sis in Cilicia.]] As a result of Armenia being a constant battleground between two major powers, the Matenadaran in Etchmiadzin was pillaged several times, the last of which took place in 1804, during the Russo Persian War. Eastern Armenia's annexation by the Russian Empire in the early 19th century provided a more stable climate for the preservation of the remaining manuscripts. In March 1922 the manuscripts from Etchmiadzin that had been sent to Moscow during World War I were ordered to be returned to Armenia by Alexander Miasnikian.

The statue of Mesrop Mashtots and his disciple Koryun by Ghukas Chubaryan was erected in 1962 below the terrace where the main building stands. Since the 1970s an open air exhibition is located in the colonnades on both sides of the entrance. On display there are khachkars from the 13th 17th centuries; a tombstone from the Noratus cemetery; a vishap dated 2nd 1st millennia BC; a door from Teishebaini (Karmir Blur), a Urartian archaeological site.

The new building of the Matenadaran was designed by Arthur Meschian, an architect better known as a musician, to accommodate the growing collection of manuscripts.

The Matenadaran has become one of the landmarks and major tourist attractions of Yerevan since its establishment. and Yerevan's most important and most popular tourist attraction. It attracted some 89,000 visitors in 2016, and around 132,600 in 2019. Indira Gandhi (1976), Vladimir Putin (2001), José Manuel Barroso (2012), Prince Charles (2013).

Currently, the Matenadaran contains a total of some 23,000 manuscripts and scrolls—including fragments. Furthermore, over 500,000 documents such as imperial and decrees of catholicoi, various documents related to Armenian studies, and archival periodicals. At the time there were some one thousand manuscripts in other languages, such as Persian, Syriac, Arabic, Greek, Georgian, Russian, Hebrew, Hindi, Tamil, Latin, Ethiopic (Geʽez), and other languages. and the Shukhonts' Gospel (1669) are taken to the churches of Mughni and Oshakan every year to be venerated.

The first complete catalog of the Matenadaran manuscripts («Ցուցակ ձեռագրաց») was published in two volumes in 1965 and 1970 with a supplementary volume in 2007. These three volumes listed 11,100 manuscripts kept at the Matenadaran with short descriptions. Since 1984, a more detailed catalog has been published, titled The Main List of Armenian Manuscripts («Մայր ցուցակ հայերէն ձեռագրաց»). As of 2019, ten volumes have been published.

The Matenadaran publishes the scholarly journal Banber Matenadarani (Բանբեր Մատենադարանի, "Herald of the Matenadaran") since 1941. The articles are usually devoted to the manuscripts and editions of texts contained in the collection. The journal has been praised for its high quality of scholarship. In 2011 Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan called the Matenadaran a "national treasure which has become the greatest citadel of the Armenian identity." According to Nora Dudwick, in the Soviet period, the Matenadaran "symbolized the central values of Armenian culture [and signified] to Armenians the high level of culture and learning their ancestors achieved as early as the fifth century." Thomas de Waal notes that alongside several other institutions (e. g. the Opera, National Gallery) the Matenadaran was central in the Soviet efforts to make Yerevan a "repository of Armenian myths and hopes." Levon Abrahamian argues that the secular Matenadaran continued the traditions of medieval monasteries within an atheist state. Patrick Donabédian and Claude Mutafian characterized it as a "modern, secular, and urban monastery." Gevorg Emin called it the "chief temple" of Armenian manuscripts, while Silva Kaputikyan suggested that it "evokes the same reverent feeling" as Saint Hripsime Church and the monastery of Geghard. Abrahamian suggests that the Matenadaran has become a sanctuary and temple for Armenians, where manuscripts are treated not only with scientific respect, but also adoration. An American delegation headed by Glenn T. Seaborg that visited in 1971 noted the "loving care with which the people obviously regarded" the "tremendous wealth" of the Matenadaran. In the Soviet era, it was featured on a 1978 stamp and a 5 ruble commemorative coin released in 1990. The Communist Party's official newspaper, Pravda, wrote in 1989 that no educated Soviet citizen can "imagine spiritual life without the capital's Tretyakov Gallery, the Leningrad Hermitage, and the Yerevan Matenadaran." In 1984, Karen Demirchyan, the Soviet Armenian leader, expressed that there was no longer a necessity to safeguard Armenian books and manuscripts from potential destruction through constant migrations, as they were safeguarded at the Matenadaran, which he called the "temple of priceless creations of the people's mind and talent." In post Soviet Armenia, it appeared on a 1,000 dram banknote circulated from 1994 to 2004. Additionally, it was depicted on uncirculated commemorative coins in 2002 (gold) and 2007 (silver), as well as on a stamp issued in 2007. In 2015 the Central Bank of Russia issued a silver commemorative coin dedicated to the Eurasian Economic Union, which depicted symbols of the capitals of the member states, including the Matenadaran.

Gevorg Emin, poet. He worked briefly at the Matenadaran in the 1940s. Rafael Ishkhanyan, linguist, political activist and MP. He worked at the Matenadaran from 1961 to 1963. Nouneh Sarkissian, First Lady of Armenia (2018–2022). She worked at the Matenadaran in the 1980s. Levon Ter Petrosyan, the first president of Armenia (1991–98). He worked at the Matenadaran from 1978 to 1991. He was initially a junior researcher, but became a senior researcher in 1985. Asatur Mnatsakanian, philologist and historian. He worked at the Matenadaran from 1940 until his death in 1983.